How to Make Leaf Mold: The Three-Bin Method for Homemade Black Gold

To make leaf mold, set up three bins directly on the ground: one for fresh dry leaves mixed with kitchen scraps (two parts leaves to one part scraps), one for compost that's almost broken down and one for the finished, fully decomposed "black gold." Keep it as moist as a wrung-out sponge and it'll beat anything you can buy at the garden center or the big-box store on price.

Here are the best tips for making good, cheap organic leaf compost at home to feed your plants and get your garden growing better than ever.

What is leaf mold?

Leaf mold, or leaf compost, is a versatile material you can use in garden beds, containers and seed trays. Its big selling point is that it helps keep your growing spaces free of weeds and disease, which saves you money on plant-care products. Well-made, screened leaf compost also drains really well, so it keeps your plants and flowers perfectly hydrated without drowning them.

Homemade compost is great for growing strong plants: it can add plenty of nutrients and help them sprout and take off faster than plants that don't get any of this organic "black gold."

How to make leaf mold at home

The first thing to do before you start composting is build three wooden bins with clear dividers between them, so each batch of compost stays safely in its own space. The second most important thing is to build those bins directly on the soil, because that way everything breaks down much faster.

As for materials, you can find them all over your home or farm, since they're super easy to come by, though not everything is fair game. We'll get into what works and what doesn't further down.

Give each batch of compost its own bin

The golden rule when you're learning to compost at home is not to mix things up. Just like with recycling, you'll need to sort everything by where it came from. And keep in mind that if it isn't organic waste or organic matter, it's no use for this.

So ideally, give each stage of compost its own bin. We recommend putting them side by side, but be careful their contents don't mix. Remember to leave enough space between them.

What goes in the first bin?

The first leaf compost bin gets dry leaves (if they've got a bit of animal poop on them, don't wash them off; they'll actually speed things up). The best time to gather leaves is in the fall, when trees are dropping them by the ton.

Along with the leaves goes your plant-based kitchen waste: eggshells, potato and sweet potato peels and the other veggie scraps from your everyday cooking. You can also add pruning scraps, used yerba mate (the tea-like herb Argentines drink by the gallon) or tea leaves, coffee grounds and so on. Remember, all of this goes straight onto the ground.

The right compost ratio

For this first batch, the ratio should be 1 part organic plant waste to 2 parts dry leaves.

What goes in the second bin?

The second bin is where you move your compost once it's almost fully broken down. Don't freak out if it's turned black; that's exactly how it should look, and it's why people call it "black gold."

You may even notice it's not 100% done yet, so you might still see chunks and twigs that are breaking down. This stage comes with a little bonus: stick your nose in and you'll get that great fresh-earth smell.

And the third bin?

Once the compost in the second bin is 100% broken down, move it to the third, where you'll store it until you're ready to use it.

At this stage it's really important to be able to tell whether the compost is fully finished or whether some ingredients still need to break down. If it isn't fully decomposed, instead of feeding the plants you're trying to fertilize, it'll do the opposite: it'll pull nutrients away from them to keep feeding itself.

How moist should compost be?

A key part of making good organic compost is keeping it moist at all times, especially in summer or whenever the air is dry. So in those stretches, give it a spray with the hose every so often, but don't overdo it, or you'll end up with soggy fungus and mold.

So how do you check the moisture? Grab a handful and squeeze it: just a few drops of water should come out, and no more.

Benefits of leaf mold

• It's an eco-friendly, clean, 100% natural product
• It's weed-free and has no chemicals whatsoever
• Using leaf compost helps keep your soil from compacting
• If you're after great drainage and good porosity, compost is perfect for the job
• It adds a lot of organic matter
• Screened leaf compost is fine-textured and free of debris
• It's ideal for boosting plant nutrition

Making leaf mold: what can and can't go in?

• No animal products, meat or fats in your homemade compost. Also skip diseased plants, including sick squash or tomato plants and weeds, since any disease they carry can spread to the compost and end up ruining all your plants.
• Weeds, fresh grass clippings and sick or pest-infested plants should also stay out of the pile while you're making compost.
• Remember to cover your compost in winter so it holds on to its heat. It's also a great trick to speed up decomposition.
• Cold doesn't do your leaf compost any favors. In summer, on the other hand, compost tends to break down faster thanks to the heat and moisture, which makes it the best season for it.
• It's normal for it to smell a little funky at first.